Spark-plug.



(I. W. NANCE.

SPARK PLUG.

APPLIOATEDN FILED aumzs, 1911. RENEWED FEB.17,1913.

Patented SW3, 1913.

IX i/MLWO a a the same amount of current being applied,

Q 4; 1s a vertical sectuifishowlng a slightly into a cylinder oi an engine, the inner pe- UNITED s iles- JAMES w, NANCE, or Twin rAnLs, IDAHO,

rarnnr OFFICE.

asstslvon or oNE-roUn'rH To HUBERT w.

WILSON, 0F TWIN FALLS,

- sranmrnue.

To all 00/1 0172, it may concern Be it known that it, James \V. NANCE, citizen of the United States. residing a Twin Fallsgin the county of Twin Falls and State of Idaho, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in SparlePlugs, of which the following'is a specification, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to newv and useful improvements in spark plugs and my object is to-provide a device of this character which is in every way superior to and is adapted to supersede the spark plugs now in use; .A further object of the-invention resides in providing a plug in which the amount of spark given therefrom will be increased with which increasing of spark will increase the power of the engine to which the same is ap lied. p A still further object resides in providing a plug'with a pair of electrodes, one of which is provided with a plurality of spark a s. g X still further object of the invention 17-? sides in providing an insulated core in which the gapped electrode is partially embedded and a still-further object resides in providing a plug which is simple in construction, cheaply manufactured and extremely eflective in operation. lVith these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel features of. construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter referred to and more particularly pointed out in the specification and claims.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this application, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the plug. Fig. 2 is a vertical section therethrough. Fig. 3 is a transverse section as seen on line 3-3, Fig. 1, and, Fig.

modified form of plug. I

In carrying out my invention, I. shall refer to the drawing in which similar reference chara eters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views and in whichl indicates a nut or shell having the lower portion externally threaded and ads. pied to be entered riphery of said nut being reduced in diame tcr toward one end thereof, and extending therethrougli is a core 2 formed of any desired insulated material such'as mica'or por- 'eelain. The insulated core 2 is tapered-co incident to thetapering of the inner pea p ratem'ease e,ea a a, Application filed June 5,1911, SerialNo. 631,210. Renewed February 17, 1913.. serialn z 749,031.

riphery of the nut 1 and'is provided with n 1 7 central channel 3 through which extends a terminal orelectrode-d, said electrode or ter-- min'al being provided-onits one'end with a head 5, while'the opposite end thereof is threaded,-as shown at 6, to receive a nut or the like 7, thereby retaining thesame in po-' sition-in the core. As stated, this member 4 which extends through the core 2 is a teranimal or electrode and may be formed of any desired material'lwhich is'a good 'elec tric conductor and the other electrode'com-;-

prises a platinum wire'8 which is mounted in the lower end of the nut 1, as shown at 9", said wire being then brought down and embedded in a substantially "annular groove 10 in the outerfperiphery of the core 2 adj'a' cent its lower end. The groove "10 is extremely shallow in depth, being'just suifi- 'cient to allow the wire to fit substantially flush with theouterwall of'the eore'a'ncl the end of the wire opposite the grounded '.end is extendedthrough' a transverse "channel 11 insaid core to contact with the central terminal or electrode 4 That ortion of the wire which is mounted in t e annular groove 10 of the core is provided withaPlurality of gaps .or spaces, as shown at 12, I having shown 1n the 111stance'seven, but it will be understood that any number may be providedwhich is entirely within the scope of the mechanic, and ipwill be seen that when the current-is passed through the electrodes, sparks will-be formed at each of the gaps shown, without more current being necessitated than is'usedfor the provision of a single spark, as in the present spark plugs.

In Fig. 4, I have shown aslightly modified form of plug in which a shell-'13 has the inner periphery thereof Fsuddenly reduced to form an annular shoglder 1a which same to the core, and. said core is also provided with a central vertical channel 18 which extends througl from the upper end to a point adjacentthe lo,w"er.end. ;,thereo f. Mounted innthe' channel l 8'is -an eleo't-rode"- or terminal" '19, the upper end of which is threaded to receive a nut 20, whereby the same may be'secured in position in the core.

The'other electrode in this form comprises a platinum wire 21 which hasj'one end thereof I grounded .withinthe nut or shell Band is i: wire whichforms the. other electrode, is

mounted in this" groove and the end'thereof opposite the grounded end, is extended througha transverse channel 24 to contact with the lower end ofthe central terminal or electrode -19. This electrode,-'as in the other form,'is so embeddedin the core as to l have the outer-periphery thereof flush with the outer wall of the core'and that portion ofthe same which is extended around the convexed portion of the core is provided with a plurality of gaps or spaces 25, which 2 5 1 of the drawing as in the other form, are all very small in diameter.-

Althouglrnot before stated, it will be here noted that in the formdisclosed in Fig. 4 a washer 26 is provided which is adapted to rest on the shoulder 14: T within the sleeve or shell 13, one face of said {washer -be ing lined with asbestos, In this manner the shoulder 15 may rest therea ainst as; thej'same' is properly positioned said shell, thus forming an air and tightconnectlon. I I hrsa well known fact that any resistance in: an'lelectric current causes more volume without any more consumption of current and the more sparks that are provided in a gas engine, the more apt'the same is to fire M thecharge-in a cylinder, so that it will be ,provide additional sparks Without the use of seen that my improved plug is adapted to more current and Wlll, therefore, ignite the ,mixture at all times. With an increased spark such as this plug provides, it will be seen that an imperfect mixture will be ignited- .as well as 'perfect one, thereby eliminating the chances of the motor missing considerably.

andthus. increase the power of the engine It will further be seen that my improved plu dsdfsuch simple construction as to be rea 1ly andcheaply'manufactured and one which isextreinely effective in operation. It mustalso here be stated that the spark In this manner when the electrical connection is made with the-one electrode, a sub-- stantial arc of fire will be formed about the core, the spaces bet-ween said gaps remainmg the same throughout, thus giving a perfect spark and preventing the missing which is so prevalent in the engines vof'today.

What I claim is z- 1. A spark. plug comprising in combination a shell, an insulated core extending therethrough and providedwith a hole therein and agroove on the end portion thereof, a conductor disposed in said groove and consisting ,of a plurality of segments spaced apart so as to give aseries of spark-gaps in the conductor, one end portion of said conductor being connected to said shell, another conductor disposed in said hole and having one end portion adapted for holding a conductin wire thereto, a member secured to the en portion of the last mentioned conductor so as to bring. the same into sparking distance with said segments.

2. A spark plug comprising in combination a shell, an insulated core extending therethrough, and provided with a hole therein and provided with a groove on the end portion thereof, the core being provided with an aperture connecting said groove and said hole, a conductor disposed in said hole and having one of its end portionsterminated therein, a nut provided on the other end of said conductor for securing a conducting wire or the like thereto, another conductor secured to said shell at one end, and having its central portion disposed in .said groove and said aperture, the portion in said groove consisting of a plurality of segments spaced apart so as to give a. series of spark gaps in the conductor, the end of said conductor being secured to the first mentioned conductor.

' In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES NANCE. 

